The abortive efforts of the "panty-bomber" have inspired the War
Party to focus on a new front in our ongoing and seemingly permanent "war
on terrorism": Yemen, a godforsaken outpost of medievalism and sun-scorched
desert on the northern shores of the Red Sea, is now taking center stage as
al-Qaeda’s latest purported stronghold. Taking advantage of the outcry following
the panty-bomber’s near-deadly escapade, the Yemeni government is calling on
the US for yet more aid and assistance – in addition to the tens of millions
already being pumped into that country – to fight "terrorism," and
specifically al-Qaeda, which is said to have around 300 fighters hiding somewhere
in Yemen’s isolated and virtually inaccessible outback.

"Somebody in our government said to me in Sana’a, the capital of Yemen,
‘Iraq was yesterday’s war, Afghanistan is today’s war. If we don’t act preemptively,
Yemen will be tomorrow’s war.’ That’s the danger we face."

Lieberman never met an Islamic nation that he didn’t want to invade and subjugate,
but in the case of Yemen, the misdirection such "preemption" would
represent for US policy in the region couldn’t be more deceptive. For the real
source of irritation to the US, and its Saudi Arabian ally, isn’t al-Qaeda,
but Iran.

Yemen has been embroiled in a civil war since the mid-1990s, one that has little
to do with al-Qaeda and everything to do with the historical and religious currents
that have swept over this poverty-stricken nation of some 20 million since the
end of World War I. The Ottoman empire once claimed suzerainty over the region,
but never succeeded in subduing the northern tribes who maintained their independence
through all the days of British domination of the south, and then the imposition
of Marxist one-party rule in the name of the southern-dominated "Democratic
Republic of Yemen," which was a Soviet ally during the cold war era.

The ferociously independent northerners are religiously and ethnically distinct
from their fellow countrymen, adhering to a version of Shi’ite Islam, unlike
the Sunni majority in the more settled southern provinces. For years the northerners
have waged a battle against the central government, under the general rubric
of the "Houthi," named after their former leader,
Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi, killed by the regime in 2004. For its
part, the central government has been dominated by a central figure, Field Marshal
Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has ruled since 1978, when the President of the Yemeni
Arab Republic (YAR) was assassinated (some say at the instigation of Saleh).
Since that time, Saleh has systematically jailed, killed, or otherwise eliminated
any who would oppose him.

The Yemeni central government has been none too subtle in its tactics, launching
what they themselves called "Operation
Scorched Earth" in an effort to defeat the northern rebels. This campaign
provoked a refugee exodus from the battlefield in which tens of thousands of
displaced persons fled to the south, where they were housed in sprawling camps.
Meanwhile, the Saudis were drawn into the conflict, using their air force to
bomb and strafe rebel villages, and sending their troops into direct skirmishes
with the Houthi. Fearful that the spreading influence of the Houthi Shi’ites
would infect their own minority Shi’ite population, particularly in al-Hasa and other oil-producing provinces of the Kingdom, the Saudis are determined
to crush the Yemeni insurgency, and have doubtless encouraged their American
patrons to get more directly involved.

The Saudis and the Yemeni central government have portrayed the Houthis as
Iranian pawns, and the conflict has been defined as a proxy war between Tehran
and Riyadh – yet the real roots of the civil war are buried in Yemen’s storied
past, where the religious and political divisions that currently bedevil the
regime in Sana’a, the capital city, have their origin.

In addition to the Houthi rebellion in the north, the central government faces
a secessionist movement in the south, which has, up until now, largely confined
its activities to peaceful protests and demonstrations. Yet the government has
treated them in the same way it has confronted the Houthis: with violent repression.
Recent demonstrations held by the separatists were met with brute force: eight
newspapers were closed by the government for daring to report on the secessionists’
activities.

Naturally, the Yemeni government has every interest in portraying the southern
secessionists as a conspiracy hatched by al-Qaeda, and the northern rebels as
proxies for Iran – and the US is buying into it, big time, with $70 million in US military and "development" aid this year alone, and much more
in the pipeline. Now that President Obama has pledged to "use every element
of our national power to disrupt, to dismantle and defeat the violent extremists
who threaten us, whether they are from Afghanistan or Pakistan, Yemen or Somalia,
or anywhere where they are plotting attacks against the U.S. homeland,"
the road is opened to a deepening US presence in that war-torn country, up to
and including the large-scale presence of American troops.

Change? Far from reversing the policies of the Bush era, President Obama –
swept into office by war-weary voters who mistook his opposition to the Iraq
war as a general tendency towards non-interventionism – is not only continuing
but expanding the American offensive, which is now engulfing Pakistan and spilling
over into the Arabian peninsula. As for "al-Qaeda on the Arabian peninsula,"
this fits right into their plans for a general conflagration in the region,
which will set Sunni against Shia, Saudis against Yemenis, and everyone against
the United States.

Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia – nothing is beyond the scope of
American ambitions to dominate the region, and apparently nothing short of a
voter rebellion at home will deter Obama from this suicidal course. The war
begun by Bush, and continued by Obama, is widening. As the showdown over Iran’s
nonexistent nuclear weapons program proceeds – from draconian sanctions and
American sponsorship of terrorist groups in Iranian Balochistan, to a proxy
war in Yemen – the stage is being set for a new world war. Al Qaeda is the pretext
– but Iran is the target.

NOTES IN THE MARGIN

I was going to write a New Year’s summing-up column, but the rush of events
– the brouhaha surrounding the panty-bomber, and the sudden prominence of Yemen
in the administration’s war plans – forced a change of plans. Stuff keeps happening,
and I have the distinct – and sinking – feeling that this augurs yet another
spate of "interesting times," as the old Chinese proverb would have
it. We are saddled with a President who feels compelled to prove that he isn’t
"weak" on national security – and a Congress that essentially acts
as a chorus to his war cries, echoing and ramping up the bombastic belligerence
that has characterized the "national style" since 9/11. Yes, we’re
still trapped on Bizarro World, where up is down, war is peace, and this year’s
Nobel winner is launching what may very well turn out to be the third world
war.

As we hurtle, however unwillingly and fearfully, into 2010, I can say without
exaggerating in the least that Antiwar.com is more essential than ever – and
now is your last chance to make a contribution that you can deduct from your
2009 tax bill. And what better way to register your protest at a world that,
each and every day, seems more irrational and inclined to self-destruction?
We may yet prevent the worst from happening: but remember, we can’t do it without
your help.

Also: Don’t forget to check out my continuing contributions to The Hill,
where my (brief) commentary appears online five days a week. And while you’re
at it, check out Chronicles magazine, where I’m writing a monthly column.
Last, but very far from least, I continue to contribute to The American Conservative:
my latest piece is an essay-review of a book by the conservative philosopher
Russell Kirk on the life and career of Robert A. Taft.

And how could so much of this be fixed in an near instant? stop support that terrorist apartheid "democracy" in the middle east.

Mike

Wow,
The media is chattering about fixing security and placing blame. Our foreign Policy of empire is like an infection and getting worse. Sooner or later the American people better wake up . We are fed propaganda continuously. I agree that it is probably past the "tipping" point. We have lost control of our gov't. many years ago.

Johnny in Wi.

I know Bush and Cheney were horrible but think what Gore Liebermann would have been like. Those two were totaly under the Israeli Lobby. With Bush you had some hope in beginning anyhow. Obama seems to under the complete thumb of people like Emmanuel, Axelrod, Holbrooke, Clinton and Summers. In other words Israel Uber alles. Justin: I my again compliment you on your fine work.

Obviously, the USraeli Empire is on a path that risks WW3; we're being sacrificed on the altar of Zionism.

And the one weapon we have, the only weapon we have, which stands a chance (although not much of a chance, at this late date), of stopping the madmen, is 9/11 truth. But unfortunately, our so-called "Alternative Media" (of which Antiwar.com is a part), will have none of that "nonsense", e.g., indisputable video evidence of controlled demolition of the towers.

SHortly after the Iranian Revolution in 1979, I read a book on the history of Shi'a Islam. It's been a long time, I might have the fats mixed up in my mind, but I seem to recall from that reading something which makes me very suspicious about this claim that Iran is aiding the Shi'its in northern Yemen. What I remember is that the brand of Shi'ism that took root in Yemen is not the orthodox "Twelver" Shi'ism that dominates in Iran, but something that Twelver clerics and scholars would denounce as heretical. Religious groups of all sorts have always hated their own heretics more than anyone else, I'm sure the same is true of Twelver Shi'ite clergy, and no matter how much the Iranian regime may have conflicts with the Sunni rulers of the Arabian peninsula it is unlikely that those conflicts would extend to aiding and arming heretical deviaitonists from Shi'ite orthodoxy..

MilesGloriosus

If I recall correctly "Shia" just means party, and there are many different "Shia's," many of whom are in open disagreement with one another. The term Shiite is usually used to mean a non-Sunni, nothing more nothing less, and lumping all Shi'tes together would be like discussing British political parties and lumping together the American democrat and gop parties as a single entity.

Iran’s nonexistent nuclear weapons program. What if your wrong? You will not have seen a war like the one that will come if you are wrong or naive. A voter revolt? For whom would these revolting voters vote for because the only viable place to vote for a counter to Obama policies is the Republicans, and I doubt that will have the anti-war effect you desire. Sure a little state like Vermont can elect an independent, even a congressman or two, but when a third party canidates win more than 5 seats in the senate or 15 in the house…you let me know.

dsmith

The International Atomic Energy Agency says it has found no evidence that Iran is building a bomb. Of course, as in Iraq, we don't want to hear anything to the contrary when we are hell bent on starting another bogus war against an Islamic country.

There is however substantial evidence that the US and Israel have been pushing to demonize Iran for not being their bitch. Even if Iran had nuclear capabilities….I would feel safer with Iran having the bomb than I do with a war mongering country like Israel having enough nukes to bomb us all back into the stone age…thanks in part to our generous foreign aid.

ObamaKoolAidDrinker

Somebody should make a list of all the countries that the USA is currently waging war against.

This should include not only US colonial occupation wars like Iraq and Afghanistan but also bombings (Somalia, Yemen, Pakistan), and covert wars (Iran).

The American war list grows ever longer.

This is only fitting, given that America is a war criminal nation from top to bottom and end to end.

As another shining example, take lewrockwell.com. Rather than say something that might help our country survive, ol' Lew would rather babble on, incoherently, about how the "[U.S.] Military" "defends our freedom"…just because some unnamed "soldier" called the U.S. government "facist". LOL! (Sorry Lew, but unless your unnamed "soldier" is taking a public stand against his treasonous superiors, then he, too, is a "fascist").

So here we are, with indisputable video evidence implying government complicity in the murders of 3000 people, an act which launched wars of aggresssion that have now killed over a million innocent people, and threaten millions more, and Lew Rockwell, for example, wants to talk nonsense. I hold Lew and his handlers almost as morally responsible as Cheney and Wolfowitz.

The 'Defends our Freedom' title on LRC was ironic, not a summary of Mr. Rockwell's article. The unnamed soldier was taking a stand against his superiors, and Rockwell was not talking nonsense such as yours. Before making such a comment you should at least make an attempt to read all the words, or at least just the little ones.

Nelson_2008

The "Military defends our Freedom" title is nonsense, firstly because one man is not "the Military" and second, because merely complaining about censorship of internet sites and calling the U.S. government names, hardly amounts to "taking a stand". If the unnamed soldier did something similar to what Ehren Watada and Pablo Paredes did, then maybe Lew would have something to write about. Sorry if it's all over your head.

Nelson_2008

Of course you realize I was talking about the blog, not the article the soldier was referring to, right?

And as far as the article itself goes, I have to laugh when Lew Rockwell claims to be "the untrammeled voice of freedom, unafraid, uncompromising, innovative, and effective"; if that were true they wouldn't be so afraid of 9/11.

Lieberman is the perfect triangulating foil. And now Cheney is helping drive the wedge between what people perceive are Obama's intentions and what Lieberman does on Obama's behalf. Just like what Lieberman did with Obama's healthcare bill, he did Obama's dirty work.

It's actually quite a brilliant strategy imo. Lieberman gains street cred with the drooling reactionaries that think Obama is a Socialist Muslim from Kenya, street cred which, if Lieberman weren't there to promote and absorb for his chum friend pal Obama, could potentially tarnish Obama's perception among his drooling personality cult.

And while everyone is engulfed in petty left/right tribalism they'll conveniently forget that Obama and Lieberman are good friends. It's a win/win.

“Daniel Huisinga of Fairview, Tenn., who was returning from an internship in Kenya for the holidays, says he also saw a man being taken away in handcuffs at the airport after a dog search. A third person, Roey Rosenblith, told The Huffington Post on Sunday that he saw a man in a suit being placed into handcuffs and escorted out, as well,” reports Michigan Live.

“Huisinga talked about seeing a man taken away at the airport during an interview Monday on MSNBC. He mentions it at about the 1:25 mark of the video below. The reporter appears to confuse Huisinga’s account with a man who was detained on a separate flight Sunday and deemed not to be a threat.”

Huisinga later told Michigan Live that the Indian man who was later detained by the FBI after dogs had detected something suspicious in his baggage was “wearing a nice suit,” raising questions as to whether this was the same man who helped Abdulmutallab board the plane. Huisinga was located about 20 feet from where the man was handcuffed.

Huisinga shared Haskell’s view that the passengers were moved because more explosives had been discovered, adding that agents told the passengers that they could not use their cell phones or computers. “We were kind of left to draw our own conclusions,” he said.

“It is unknown why the person was detained or whether the person will face any charges,” U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesman Ron Smith told MLive.com.

The FBI is still denying that a second person was detained in relation to the incident, raising suspicions as to whether the well-dressed Indian man is being protected by the authorities and for what reason.

Here is what the huffpo article had to say about the second man detained in Detroit:

We stayed in the baggage claim area for 3 hours without any word of what happened next. We were only allowed into the bathroom one person at a time by an officer who guarded the door. Behind the line of our immediate security detail there were hundreds of other police officers moving around back and forth, as if they were on they were on the night watch guarding a military base from a potential threat. What they were doing was unclear. The only thing that I recall happening is seeing an Indian guy off to the side, an older gentleman wearing a gray suit leaning against the wall. Suddenly there was a police officer next to him pulling his arms back and pulling handcuffs on him. The man didn't struggle, the bags which seemed to be his were left there, and he and the police officer disappeared around the corner.
…
Suddenly a tall plain clothes officer appeared. Oddly he was wearing a sweater, athletic shorts, and sneakers. As if he had been called in mid-workout. Only his necklace badge made it evident he was with the authorities. As he was walking down the corridor, he asked people a new question, "We have been told someone was videotaping the incident. If you were videotaping the incident can you please make yourself known." A few people around me confirmed that they saw a guy videotaping the whole thing. I told them they should talk to the officers and help identify the guy. A few got up and followed the police officer around, searching for him. I still don't know if they found him.

And what the third witness had to say about the second man detained in Detroit:

Daniel Huisinga of Fairview, Tenn., who was returning from an internship in Kenya for the holidays, says he also saw a man being taken away in handcuffs at the airport after a dog search.
…
Huisinga talked about seeing a man taken away at the airport during an interview Monday on MSNBC. He mentions it at about the 1:25 mark of the video below. The reporter appears to confuse Huisinga's account with a man who was detained on a separate flight Sunday and deemed not to be a threat.
…
Huisinga said the man with the suspicious bag was questioned by agents, who looked through his luggage. The agents left, then approached the man a second time before placing him in handcuffs and leading him away, said Huisinga, who estimates he was about 20 feet away from the scene.

So there's a chance the "infidel" "crusaders" could land in the immediate neighbourhood of Saudi Arabia. The fire getting closer to Islam's holiest shrines. Bin Laden probably thinks his prayers have been answered.

It really doesn't matter what is the reasoning behind this new stunt, the effects will almost certainly be unexpected.

dude bin laden has been room temperature for 8 years counting and was not responsible for 9-11. Look at his FBI wrap sheet, 9-11 ISNT there because the FBI doesnt have "enough evidence" to link him. GET WITH IT

rollingthunder

Kill all Terrorist and anyone that are associated with them!!! We should of nuked them after the USS Cole attack!!

cole and liberty were both israel, and israel is a terrorist country. i'd be okay with bombing israel if it wasn't squatting on top of palestine, and the TRUE inhabitants of that country dont deserve any more bombing.

ObamaKoolAidDrinker

How about America's genocidal sanctions, bombings, and invasion of Iraq for the past two decades?

Or the USA's invasion of Afghanistan and its fraudulent casus belli: America's self-inflicted terrorist attack that was 9/11?

If anybody deserves to be nuked for its terrorism, it's America.

Then all the flag waving American terrorists can be sent back to where they belong: hell.

Mt_Hood_42

To Nelson_2008:____I did extensive research on the passengers of the 9/11 hijacked planes, and I found that 9 of these passengers have connections to the state of Israel. Three of these nine passengers are Todd Beamer, Jeremy Glick, and Mark Bingham, the supposed heroes of United Airlines Flight 93. __ __To see the information that I discovered, please go to the following location:__ __http://www.cassiopaea.org/forum/index.php?topic=3… __This is a thread on a message board. The first post in the thread, posted under the name Eagle54, describes the results of my research.__ __ __Then, I did even more research on Beamer and Glick. Specifically, I read the book "Let's Roll", which was written by Todd Beamer's widow Lisa Beamer. That book yielded a lot of interesting information about Beamer and Glick, and that information is available at the following location:__ __http://www.cassiopaea.org/forum/index.php?topic=3… __This is another thread on the previously-mentioned message board. The first post in the thread, posted under the name Eagle54, describes the information about Beamer and Glick.__ __

Why are my posts being deleted? All I did was to point to the unusual provenance of the latest outrage and provide a link to an eyewitness account for the TWO American that saw the arcane boarding of Mr. AbdulMutallab with(according to them…NO passport) and he was being represented as sudanese. Here is the URL to find this account by the married couple attorneys from Michigan.. http://www.mlive.com/news/detroit/index.ssf/2009/…
also I included the url for part one of a two video discussion of how there seems to have been someone videoing the bomber from seats a few rows behind… and the probable reason it was deleted it was Steven Jones… Prison Planet… Probably not a favorite with antiwar.com censor… who largely seem unidentified….

Justin, you are exactly right in saying that, "nothing short of a voter rebellion at home will deter Obama from this suicidal course."

The RepuliDem EMPIRE is inexorably expanding this, as you say into, "a new world war."

To paraphrase Oppenheimer quoting Hindu scripture, the Bhagavad-Gita; Vishnu, "Now we have become Empire — the destroyer of life".

Worse than just an Atom Bomb, Empire is the only really existential WMD.

AP and other MSM propaganda organs of the ruling-elite's Global corporate/financial/militarist Empire continue to report things like, "Before yesterday’s clashes, Yemeni forces backed by US intelligence officials had carried out two major strikes against Al Qaeda hideouts this month, reportedly killing more than 60 militants."

There are at least three MSM lies of omission in this reporting:

1. The attacks were not "backed" by US intelligence — they were fully carried out by US military and CIA with jets, drones, and missiles.

2. The 60 killed were not all "militants" — but 23 were children, and 17 were women.

3. The current Iraq and dual Afpak wars are not the end state of this expanding Global War of Empire (GWOE) —- but the IraqAfpakmaliYemanranNigerezuela wars are just the beginning.

What is going on here at antiwar.com..?? Somehow it seems to have lurched from an Libertarian (Govt. is the problem, not the solution) to a ["whatever the Gov. says probably is true"' EDITORIAL POLICY in this time of foreign control and false flag diplomacy..!! JUSTIN…WTF… Maybe 911 was NOT a CIA opp, ..but
we can surely agree that the Gov. lied, lies and is a serial liar… So why the deletions and the general uproar when I or someone else points to inconsistencies in the OFFICIAL account of threats and incidents that they (the Gov.) claim to be terrorists attacks and or incidents… This latest incident is by far, one of the most bogus supposed "terrorist" incidents on record. Why would antiwar.com DELETE my links to accounts of the EXTREMEly contrived nature of this incident… There seems to be NO justification that can be proffered to justify the deletion of links to the discussions by dedicated observers about this most likely FAKE provocation being employed to ratchet up tension & hostilities with Yemen…!!!!!!!! Jeez………I wonder what happened to Geo1671 He was an obsessed commenter here at antiwar.com. However I haven't seen a post by him in a few months… was he hounded so much that he ceased to attempt to get his comments past the more and more aggressive deletor of our commentary onthe current situation…. There is a constant stream HERE of how [WE] have drunk the Obama Kool Aid. Yet, when we find strange manipulations of the news, and anomalies in accounts of events by the "O" administration, Instaed of some notice that we HAVE NOT been entirely seduced by Pres. "O", we get the ole black out…!!! PLEEZE stop censoring honest attempts to keep US (here atbantiwar.com) informed about possible FAKE INCIDENTS of "terror"… Please use your deletion POWER to squash the sanctimonious assertions of "moral highground" and the other contrived privleges that the ruling elite and their neocon enablers claim is their birthright.

Justin Raimondo is the editorial director of Antiwar.com, and a senior fellow at the Randolph Bourne Institute. He is a contributing editor at The American Conservative, and writes a monthly column for Chronicles. He is the author of Reclaiming the American Right: The Lost Legacy of the Conservative Movement [Center for Libertarian Studies, 1993; Intercollegiate Studies Institute, 2000], and An Enemy of the State: The Life of Murray N. Rothbard [Prometheus Books, 2000].